Introduction: 3D Printed Beigoma: the Original Fighting Tops

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Have you ever wondered where the game Beyblades came from? Before Beyblades there was beigoma. Beigoma appeared in Japan around 1100 AD. The tops were made from spiral sea shells filled with wax or clay. During the 20th century the tops were made from cast iron (Wiki). The beigoma made in this Instructable will use plastic filament and tungsten steel putty. Instead of using a launcher and a ripcord, beigoma use a string wrapped around it's base and launched with the flick of a wrist. Traditionally, the beigoma arena is made of canvas stretched over a round bucket or bowl to form a dish like stadium(Wiki). In this tutorial I will use a modified storage bucket lid for the arena.

“Beigoma.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beigoma.

Step 1: Gather the Parts

WARNING!!!!!

Please use the proper safety equipment and adult supervision when 3D printing, using tools, and applying super glue.

The following materials make two beigoma tops:

  1. A 3D printed beigoma starter set. You can find them here or here.
  2. 1 ounce of tungsten steel putty. You can find this putty on Amazon or eBay.
  3. Liquid super glue.
  4. 2x yoyo strings. You can find this on Amazon or YoYosam.
  5. Sharpy or acrylic paint.
  6. Small storage bucket lid.

Tools:

  1. Hobby knife
  2. Plastic nippers
  3. 400 grit sandpaper
  4. 5 or 10 pound weight
  5. Digital scale

Where to 3D print???

If you do not have a 3D printer check your local Maker Space, University, or Public Library for printing services. Where I live I can print the beigoma tops for less than $5 dollars at my local university or maker space. I can also print them for free at my public library.

Step 2: Clean Up 3D Print

Once you have your 3d printed beigomas you will have to remove the supports and rafts. Carefully use the plastic nippers to remove large bits of the supports. Carefully use a hobby knife to clean off smaller bits of supports and plastic strands. Finally smooth the tops out with sand paper. My beigomas are printed in PETG which only need a two or three brushes of sand paper to make them smooth. If you are using ABS or PLA you may need to do a good dozen brushes of sand paper to make the tops smooth. Only sand tops until they are smooth. Do not sand the top's tips yet we will get to that soon.

Step 3: Color in Caps

Take a Sharpy or some acrylic paint and color in the beigoma caps. There are two starter sets you can download: Dragon VS Shark or Phoenix VS Wolf. Once you are happy with the caps lightly apply supper glue over the colored in parts. Use safety glasses when applying super glue. Gluing over the colored in bits will keep the string from wearing it off.

Tip: I found using some scrap copy paper to dab the glue smooth helps it dry clear.

Step 4: Add Some Steel!

Open up the tungsten steal, make sure to keep it on the included wax paper so it doesn't get stuck on the surface your working on. If the putty did not come with wax paper or you don't have any a small zip lock bag or plastic lid works well. Separate the putty into two chunks that are roughly 14 grams each. Fill each beigoma with a chunk of putty. Try to evenly distribute the putty for the best performance. Attach beigoma caps to cover the putty, see below to find which beigoma goes with what cap.

  • Shark cap goes with the sharp tipped beigoma.
  • Dragon goes with the flat tipped beigoma.
  • Wolf goes with the semi-flat tipped beigoma.
  • Phoenix goes with the round tiped beigoma.

Depending on the filament you used your beigoma should weigh around 16 or 17 grams. If the cap doesn't snap into place use some sand paper to wear down it's edges. One more step and the tops are ready to battle.

Step 5: Give Your Top a Fighting Style!

Each one of the tops have a unique tip:

  • Shark pointed tip for defense.
  • Dragon flat tip for aggressive attacks.
  • Wolf semi-flat tip for endurance and balanced attack and defense.
  • Phoenix rounded tip for endurance and grip.

Shark: Sand the tip to a sharp point. For the best performance sand the edge of the tip round for better recovery.

Dragon: sand the bottom of the tip smooth. For the best performance slightly sand the edge around the tip smooth for better spin times and tighter attack patterns.

Wolf: Sand the edge and bottom of the tip smooth. For more attack sand the tip flat. For more defense sand the tip round.

Phoenix: sand the rounded tip smooth. For more aggressive attacks sand the bottom of the tip slightly flat.

Now your top is ready to battle head to the next step to find out how to make a launcher!

Step 6: Make a Launcher!

Note: Top of the yoyo string is the tied end and the bottom is the non-tied end.

To make a launcher measure 5cm from the bottom of the yoyo string and tie a double knot. Measure 1cm from the knot (measure from the side of the knot facing the top of the yoyo string) and tie another double knot.

If you can't find or get a hold of yoyo string most strings will work just cut it 60cm long. I've tested both necklace string and dollar store string and they work. Yoyo string seems to perform best.

Step 7: How to Launch Right Hand

Do not launch at people, animals, or pets!

With your left hand hold the top between your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers. Make sure the cap is facing you. Place the end of the yoyo string after the knots over the beigoma top. the knots should be draping over the top side of the beigoma. Wrap the the string over to the bottom of the beigoma so the knots are have the it's tip in between them. Make sure the string is taught. Continue to wrap the string back around to the top of the beigoma. Wrap the string back to the bottom of the beigoma but this time cross the string towards the pointer finger so it wraps in front of the knots facing you. Lightly wrap the string around the two knots once and gently pull tight. Continue to wrap the string towards you until the entire bottom of the beigoma is covered. Make sure not to wrap over any of the other wraps! Wrap the remaining string around your right hand pinky finger while holding the beigoma firmly between that hands thumb and pointer finger. On a smooth surface flick your wrist forward and release the top and it will begin spinning. This will take some practice, just focus and go slow and you will get it :)

For a stronger launch after you flick you wrist forward lightly pull the string back. The beigoma will spin between 25 - 30 seconds.

Step 8: How to Launch Left Hand

Do not launch at people, animals, or pets!

With your right hand hold the beigoma between your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers. Make sure the cap is facing you. Place the end of the yoyo string after the knots over the beigoma's top. the knots should be draping over the top side of the beigoma. Wrap the the string over to the bottom of the beigoma so the knots have the its's tip in between them. Make sure the string is taught. Continue to wrap the string back around to the top of the beigoma. Wrap the string back to the bottom of top but this time cross the string towards the pointer finger so it wraps in front of the knots facing you. Lightly wrap the string around the two knots once and gently pull tight. Continue to wrap the string towards you until the entire bottom of the beigoma is covered. Make sure not to wrap over any of the other wraps! Wrap the remaining string around your left hand pinky finger while holding the top firmly between that hands thumb and pointer. On a smooth surface flick your wrist forward and release the top and it will begin spinning. This will take some practice, just focus and go slow and you will get it :)

For a stronger launch after you flick you wrist forward lightly pull the string back.

The beigoma will spin between 25 - 30 seconds.

Step 9: Prepare an Arena!

Find a small storage container lid and place a 5 or 10 pound weight on top of it. Leave the weight on the lid for 24 hours. This will create concave surface.

Step 10: Have Fun and Practice, Practice, and Practice Some More!

There are many games you can play with the beigoma. You can battle them like Beyblades where the last top spinning in the arena wins. Another fun game is skittles where you set up clothes pins and play a game of bowling using the beigoma as the ball. And finally one of my favorites is trying to nail trick shots: landing the top on a small surface, knocking over a target, or launching it through tight spaces... No matter what your style of play is it will take practice to master launching these tops. Once you are comfortable launching the beigoma try different angles to discover new patterns of movement. Have fun and spin on!